I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to meat and poultry processing, and more particularly to a material, method and apparatus for inhibiting fecal contamination of the meat during slaughter and evisceration of animals whose meat is intended for human consumption.
II. Discussion of the Prior Art
A prime concern in the processing of meat animals is preventing fecal material which is present in the animal's rectum and intestines at the time of slaughter from leaking onto the carcass and causing contamination. Such contamination can result in the failure of the slaughtered animal to meet U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) health inspection standards. Areas of the animal subjected to fecal contamination must be excised and discarded, resulting in a financial loss to the processor and to the grower.
In a typical poultry processing line, the birds have their throats cut and are mounted head down on a moving chain conveyor as the blood is allowed to drain. Next, the birds are placed in scalding water to loosen the feathers and then are run through a mechanical feather picking machine. Subsequently, the birds are eviscerated. Fecal contamination can result during the defeathering and evisceration steps due to compressive forces to which the animals are subjected, such as by the defeathering machine. These compressive forces may squeeze the intestines, thereby forcing fecal matter out through the anal opening.
In the Neal et al. Pat. U.S. 5,083,975, there is described a method for addressing the problem of fecal matter leakage from an animal carcass during slaughtering and processing thereof. In accordance with the Neal '975 patent, KrazyGlue.RTM. cyanoacrylate adhesive is applied to the vent opening or anus of the animal carcass. The adhesive bonds the tissue of the vent together so as to seal the opening. While the method described in that prior art patent proved effective for preventing leakage of fecal matter, because cyanoacrylate adhesive is considered toxic, the offal could not be approved for use in dog food or the like.